Home with Tracy

This year I have put in more time planning than any other year. I have struggled the past couple years with preparing for the school year due to my lack of planning. This year I wanted to be different. I wanted to start strong so my kids start strong. I did a lot of research and found the curriculum that I think best fits our family. Here is what we are studying this year. Third Grade - Bible - Who Is God? - He will be using the notebooking journal. Grammar - Easy Grammar 3 Reading - Explode the Code books as well as he will read 2 chapters minimally each day. Math - Saxon 3 History - Mystery of History I Geography - A Child's Geography Science - Exploring Creation with Astronomy - He will be using the notebooking journal. Spelling - Sequential Spelling I Second Grade - Bible - Who Is God? - She will also be using the notebooking journal. Grammar - Easy Grammar 2 Reading - Explode the Code and Reading Eggs program Math - Saxon Math 2 History - Mystery of Histor...

This homeschooling year I have taken more time to plan. It is something I struggled with doing in the past. Part of our homeschooling curriculum is Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy. I bought the text book and lab kit as well as a notebooking journal for my oldest. They also offer a junior notebook. My oldest is in third grade. My other children are in second and kindergarten. Since they are newer to reading/writing I thought the notebooking would be too much. I decided to search for something else for them. I knew I could find something that another homeschooling mom had done. Can I just tell you how much I love homeschooling mom blogs! While searching I came across the site A Journey Through Learning . Their website is full of lapbooks. They have several for the Apologia Exploring Creation curriculum. They also have the option of black and white (so your kids can color them) or full color. They each come with detailed instructions. I bought the Exploring Creation with As...

In the past few months I have been trying to shop smarter, healthier and prepare better meals for my family. I have been trying to get away from processed foods. We planted a family garden. It has been a wonderful experience for the entire family. My children, who would not touch most vegetables before, excitedly go to the garden to pick fresh veggies to eat. They each actively participated in planting. They actively participated in helping maintain the garden. They loved watching what they planted grow into food we could put on our table to eat. The beginning of this year I discovered a co-op, Bulk Natural Foods . They have several pick up spots in Tennessee. I'm not sure what other States they have pick up spots in, but you can check out their site to see if it is near you. I order organic dry beans, natural white flour, wheat flour, natural peanut butter, organic dried fruits, fresh produce from local growers. There are too many things for me to list! It is also reasonabl...